Sammy Hagar - Standing Hampton

 

Details :

• Year of release : 1981
• Label : Geffen Records GEF 85456
• Review format : vinyl

Sammy Hagar’s work as the lead singer of Van Halen through the late 80s and 90s has overshadowed an accomplished solo career forged following his departure from Montrose. A solo career which has both longevity and some serious quality.

By 1981 Hagar had a reputation for producing some excellent hard rock and its fair to say that first impressions of Standing Hampton are that its a good deal more commercial that I was expecting. It’s the first Hagar album to be produced by AOR hotshot Keith Olsen (Whitesnake, Foreigner, Pat Benetar) and this may account for the polished sound.

It all kicks off in classic Red Rocker style with the uncompromising anthem There’s Only One Way To Rock, familiar to many from future Van Halen live sets, and the solid Baby’s On Fire. The keyboard heavy Can’t Get Enough has the big production feel to it and a distinctly popier sound. Sammy’s voice sounds great but this song could’ve worked without the layers of keys which some 26 years on date the track horribly. I’ll Fall In Love Again though is just classic US arena rock typical of those 70s albums. Think Bob Seger with a bit of Journey and REO in the mix and you won’t be far wrong. A Jim Peterik (Survivor) co-write ends the side and is a superb piece of music. Heavy Metal celebrates a genre with dirty guitars, booming riffs and a ‘made-for-live’ chorus. Hagar sounds on top form here and a scorching solo caps an excellent song just nicely.

Over to side two and Baby It’s You is in places gentle and melodic with some beautiful acoustic guitar work ringing in the mix. A big chorus again recalls the 70s rock behemoths. Indeed is that a hint of Don’t Fear The Reaper popping up in places? Surrender is one of the two songs Hagar didn’t write and really it’s not that good. Light AOR and sounding not unlike The Police at times this appears to be an attempt to find a hit single but then I guess he didn’t have the freedom of releasing material to suit himself back then and was subject to the same record company pressures as anyone. Inside Lookin’ In didn’t really work for me either at first although a nice solo and repeated listens saw it getting inside my head. Tongue in cheek Sweet Hitchhiker hits the spot and rocks along in similar vain to later Van Halen work - just how I like to hear the Red Rocker rocking! Final track Piece Of My Heart is the other non-Hagar composition and yep its a guitar rock take on that well known song and was on here as a tribute to Janis Joplin who of course did this with Big Brother & The Holding Company. Not my cup of tea though and a disappointing closer to an otherwise reasonable album.

Summary : Decent collection of arena rock with a couple of highlights and couple of turkeys. Sammy Hagar’s voice sounds as good as ever but a lots of its too commercial compared to earlier work. Although well received at the time I can’t help wondering how his career would have progressed if the call from the VH camp had not have come. One Way To Rock and Heavy Metal are good examples of how Hagar can rock and ultimatly this album is worth a listen but hardly essential.

A nice touch with this release (at least in the UK anyway) is the inclusion of a 7″ single featuring an interesting interview that does give some context to the recording, particularly the choice of covering Piece Of My Heart.

If You Listen To One Track Listen To : Heavy Metal

Score : 2.5/5